| Abstract |
"Against the backdrop of the soft blue hills surrounding the Catawba River valley of North Carolina, a series of narrators chronicles the changes and challenges of the 20th century in the rural community of Bethany. Marshall Cade, a refugee from the slums of Chicago, longing for home and family, falls in love with the land and with Lila McKenzie, privileged daughter of a wealthy merchant. Lila befriends Peggy McDonald, wife of neighbor Jake Sawyer. Peggy's private journal is discovered years later by her son, Robert, in the walls of the Sawyer millhouse. Miriam Sawyer, surrogate mother to Robert after Peggy dies, tells of her love for Gunther Moss, as they raise his three children and found a furniture factory. The Great Depression and the New Deal bring change as Robert and his friends grow up. An artist, Liana Lowell, occupies the millhouse for a summer, casting a spell on both Marshall Cade and young Ben Grayson before she vanishes back into her own world. Marshall founds a mail-order enterprise. Perl Harbor changes the world again. Ben and the Cade boys go to war, Robert goes to medical school and marries his sweetheart. Marshall Cade's daughter Reva becomes a star in Hollywood; Liana Lowell makes a name for herself in the art world. The children of the 40s and 50s grow up and a new generation is born as the older one passes on. On the 10th of September, 2001 -- the day before the world changes once more, Dr. Robert Sawyer sits on the porch of the old millhouse and makes the final entry in his journal." -- Back cover. |
